Cirque du Soleil, a world-leading live entertainment and experiences company, is launching an innovation portfolio for 2026 based on two pillars: performance and technology.
The projects include everything from early explorations to near-production initiatives, spanning areas such as robotics, video and projection, apparatus design, and customer experience.
This initiative is fueled by internal experts, external partners (via an open innovation model), and the artists through an annual ideation event called InnovFest. This variety of sources emphasises innovation as a primarily creative discipline, with technical aspects coming second.
InnovFest: artists as the driving force behind innovation
Behind InnovFest lies a clear objective: to tap into artists' creativity, support their personal projects, and empower them to co-create.
For the artists, this initiative offers a tangible way to evolve their craft beyond the act they perform each night and, in some cases, to see their ideas eventually find a place in a future show.
The story of the "trampo-wall" illustrates this. During the creation of Mystère, a lack of rehearsal space forced artists to set up their trampolines directly against a wall. As they bounced off it, what began as a logistical constraint evolved over time into a full-fledged acrobatic discipline.
The 'trampo-wall" in use during the finale of Cirque du Soleil's JOYA
Several projects this year follow the same logic, driven by touring artists who submitted their own ideas. Each begins with a personal intuition rather than a mandate, then evolves with the support of creative and innovation teams.
Beyond the ideas themselves, the approach breaks down traditional hierarchical barriers and gives everyone a voice, regardless of role or department. The InnovFest projects are then showcased at a cabaret-style event, allowing all company departments to discover the proposed innovations.
Robots as storytelling partners
At the heart of this year’s work is a robotics programme centred on a single question: how can robotics serve the artistic language of Cirque du Soleil?
Rather than positioning robots as replacements for performers, the company views them as potential storytelling partners. It explores both their role as characters within a narrative and their capacity to learn, alongside human artists, a movement vocabulary that includes acrobatic skills.
For 2026, the objectives are to identify the distinct "Cirque" angle for this technology; to build internal expertise in programming, technical operations, health and safety, and coaching; and to explore conversational, acrobatic, and scenographic applications. This work is part of a multi-year trajectory.
The companion robot being tested during a workshop with artist Simon Nadeau.Image credit Anthony Sifoni
This year focuses on hands-on experimentation, notably through workshops that bring together artists and a companion robot to collaboratively develop new physical skills.
Subsequent phases are expected to explore integration with the front-of-house audience experience and with acrobatic training, before the technology is deemed ready to inform a future production.
Beyond robotics, several projects are reinventing familiar circus disciplines through new physical apparatuses currently under development—featuring new surfaces, new physical principles, and new ways of translating movement into stage effects.
Open innovation
In 2026, Cirque du Soleil is making open innovation a structured, explicit approach across all of its R&D. Rather than pursuing innovation in a vacuum, the company is co-creating, building lasting ties with both the technology and artistic communities.
The organisations joining the initiative will explore new territory in R&D, innovation, and emerging technologies alongside Cirque du Soleil through workshops, innovation exercises, and in-studio trials.
This exploration brings together fast-moving start-ups and well-established companies: Montreal-based tech hub ECLO, recently founded by SAT and ZU; SAP; Epson; Dafeng (a leading provider of technical stage equipment); and Enchanted Tools and Spoon AI, pioneers in robotics and conversational avatars.
Other organisations are expected to join in the coming weeks.
Whether with external partners, across departments, or directly with its own artists through InnovFest, one conviction underpins Cirque du Soleil's 2026 innovation portfolio: the best ideas are born together.
"We believe the boldest ideas come from encounter. By opening ourselves up to other worlds, we want to learn, share, and push the limits of what's possible on stage together, with the conviction that none of us could get there alone," says Richard LePage, senior director of innovation and performance design.
Recently, Cirque du Soleil shared three elements that ensure live performance remains irreplaceable.
